A Show Won't Delete From My Tivo HD

TiVo is a digital video recorder (DVR) that allows you to record TV shows and movies, which can be played back and watched at any time. When recorded, TV shows and movies are saved onto your TiVo's hard drive and can be deleted at your convenience. Some TiVO users experience trouble deleting programs from their hard drive, which can result in the inability to record any new shows, as the hard drive has limited space and can only save a limited number of recordings. The inability to delete programs from your TiVo can mean that your hard drive has gone bad, so you need to run a diagnostic check if this is the case.

Test Your Hard Drive

Step

Unplug your TiVo and leave it unplugged for at least 15 seconds to reset the DVR. Plug in your TiVo.

Step

Press and hold the "Pause" button on your remote once all four LED lights turn off if you have a Series 3 HD TiVo. If you have a TiVo HD or a TiVo HD XL, press and hold the "Pause" button on your remote once the green LED light blinks. If you have a TiVo Premiere or a TiVo Premiere XL, press and release the "Pause" button once the green light flashes and the amber light flickers.

Step

Press "54" on the remote. If you have a Series 3 HD model, press "54" when the yellow light turns on. If you have an HD or an HD XL model, press "54" when the red and yellow lights turn on. If you have a Premiere or Premiere XL model, press "54" when the green, amber and red lights turn on.

Step

Click on "Run S.M.A.R.T. tests" by navigating the screen with the directional pad on your remote and pressing the "SELECT" button. Diagnostic testing will begin. This process may take a few minutes.

Step

Contact TiVo Customer Support if the initial testing provides you with a "Fail" result. If your TiVo passes the initial diagnostic testing, more testing will continue. This process may take a few minutes.

Step

Contact TiVo Customer Support if any "Fail" results are reported during the final testing to exchange your TiVo box for a new one. If your TiVo passes all diagnostic testing, contact TiVo Customer Support for further troubleshooting.